Meghan Markle and Prince Harry featured their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in their holiday card for the first time in years, but the five other photos they chose were also loaded with meaning.

On Dec. 16, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sent season’s greetings by issuing a collage-style card featuring six pictures on a deep green background.

“On behalf of the office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell Productions and Archewell Foundation,” said the message from the couple’s office, production company and charitable foundation. “We wish you a very happy holiday season and a joyful new year.”

Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, snuck a surprise into the collage by incorporating an image with their son Prince Archie, 5, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 3. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are raising their young children outside of the limelight in Montecito, California, making it unexpected that the kids were included in the holiday montage. The outdoor snap captured the children from behind as they excitedly ran towards their parents, who had their arms open. Prince Harry and Meghan looked at their children with love, and the family’s three dogs were at their feet.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2024 holiday card.Archewell

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Though the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have sent pictures with their kids as their holiday greetings previously, they hadn’t done so since 2021. Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were last seen briefly in some scenes of their parents’ docuseries Harry & Meghan on Netflix, which debuted in December 2022. Two years later, Archie and Lilibet looked that much more grown up. Both kids were taller, and Lilibet’s hair was long, calling back to Harry’s previous comment that his children were “blessed with their mother’s thick hair.”

The shot didn’t show Archie and Lili’s faces, aligning with Harry and Meghan’s conscientious choice to keep their kids’ lives private.

“Harry has been reluctant to show his children publicly, not out of a desire to hide them but to protect their privacy and safety from potential threats. He wants them to lead as normal a life as possible without the fear of kidnapping or harm,” a friend told PEOPLE over the summer.

Prince Harry, Princess Lilibet, Meghan Markle and Prince Archie in their 2024 holiday card.Archewell

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“As a dad and husband, Harry is determined to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself,” the friend said, referring to the fate of Prince Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana.

The couple spread cheer by bringing their kids into the holiday card in a careful way this year, but it’s not the only one the family is sending this season! PEOPLE understands that this card is meant for professional use, and that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sent a separate, private card to close friends and family which will not be shared publicly.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in San Basilio de Palenque in Cartagena, Colombia on Aug. 17, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty

The other five pictures in Prince Harry and Meghan’s multi-photo card were from the couple’s trips to Nigeria in May and Colombia in August. The five pictures were all previously seen and captured the couple on the ground during each excursion.

Photos chosen from the trip to Colombia included Meghan hugging a young student at Colegio La Giralda, Harry kissing Meghan’s head in a tender moment at a stop at the National Centre for the Arts in Bogotá and the couple in San Basilio de Palenque near Cartagena, established as the first free African town in the Americas in 1619. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Colombia to further the work of their charitable Archewell Foundation and other close causes, and the foundation said it gave contributions to benefit Colegio La Giralda and San Basilio de Palenque.

Meghan Markle at Colegio La Giralda in Bogota, Colombia on Aug. 16, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty

The shots in the card from the trip to Nigeria included Prince Harry, a British Army veteran and founding patron of the Invictus Games, holding hands with a wounded soldier at the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Kaduna. The empathetic move was reminiscent of Princess Diana’s warm way, and the photo was taken by Harry and Meghan’s friend, celebrated photographer Misan Harriman.

Prince Harry was totally focused on the soldier in a video captured by PEOPLE’s chief foreign correspondent Simon Perry, who exclusively covered the trip. “Are they helping you? Are you feeling better?” Prince Harry asked at the bedside of Private Habu Sadiq. “Get better, be strong,” Harry told the soldier, who had suffered from impaired eyesight due to a blast.